Partition clip



W. HUEGLIN, JR

PARTITION CLIP July 9, 1.940.

Filed June 5, 1957 NEY lulll Patented July 9, 1940 PARTITION CLIPWilliam Hueglin, Jr., Tenay, N. J.

Application June 5, 1937, Serial No. 146,560

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a clip for mounting partitions in displaytrays or counters for forming compartments, such as are used, forexample,

.f in the display of small articles of merchandise v, sections or shams.

in stores. l

The counters are ordinarily formed of floor sections commonly calledfalse bottoms, shams, platforms, cleats or trays, hereinafter calledfloor These floor sections or shams are supported upon a suitable basewithin an enclosing fence or rail, and for the purpose of exhibiting themerchandise in separate tray-like compartments they have been subdividedby par-- tition walls mounted in various ways. In some cases, bothlongitudinal and transverse partition walls have been inserted betweenthe floor sections to make compartments or trays of the same size as thefloor sections. The more common practice, however, has been to have thefloor sections extend from front to rear of the counter, with deeppartition walls between them, and to subdivide these spaces transverselyby shallow partition walls which are mounted on the surface of the floorsections by clips and extend across the licor sections between theprojecting surfaces of the deep, fore and aft partition walls. Varioustype of clips for this purpose have been proposed and used, and animportant object of the present invention is to provide a clip which maybe firmly anchored in the floor tosecurely support and hold thepartition, and which at the same time will permit the partitions to beassembled in a great variety of positions so that the user may readilyform compartments or trays in a great variety of dimensions.

In general, the clip, according to my invention, comprises a base orpartition-supporting member from which a plurality of ears projectupward to engage the partition, and a plurality of anchorage feetproject downward to engage the floor sections or shams. It will beunderstood that the floor sections or shams are provided withperforations or recesses at proper spacing to receive the anchoragefeet. In a preferred form, the partition-engaging ears are two in numberand are made resilient so as to permit the partition to be sprung intothe space between them and resiliently held therein by friction, and theanchorage feet are two in number and are resilient so as to grip betweenthem the material intervening between two perforations or recesses inthe floor sections or shams. Further important details of constructionand use will be apparent from the description of an embodiment tion.

(Cl. S12-140.3)

of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in whichFigure l is a perspective view, with parts in section, of a countersubdivided into compartments by partitions supported and held by clipsT5 Figure 7 is a detail perspective view, with parts I20 in section,illustrating the construction of one of the oor sections by which thebottom of the tray may advantageously be formed for use in conjunctionwith the clips of the present inven- R'eferring in detail to Figure l,the floor boards I 0 are mounted on strips or sills II. Perforations orrecesses I2 are spaced at constant intervals along each edge of theoorboard section, and if the sill members I I are secured under theseperforations or recesses I2, the sill members are preferably, though notnecessarily, channeled or routed as at I3 to provide free space beneaththe perforations I2. For certain purposes, as will be explained later,it is desirable that the line of perforations I2 be spaced from the edgeof the floor section IIJ at a distance equal to half the distancebetween the perforations within the line. In accordance with the usualpractice the floor sections may be covered with a layer of felt, asindicated at I4.

The clip, as illustrated in detail in Figure 5, comprises a base portionI5, -preferably of one single layer of sheet metal, from which a pair ofresilient ears I6 project upward to engage a partition I'I, and fromwhich a pair of feet I8 project downward to engage the licor materialintervening between two of the perforations I2, as shown clearly inFigures 3 and 4. Figure 4 shows the clip anchored in two perforations ofthe same floor section, whereas Figure 3 shows the clip anchored in twoperforations in adjoining floor sections. By having the line ci'perforations I2 along each edge of a floor section spaced inward fromthe edge a distance equal to one half of the space between perforationsof the same line, the same clip may be inserted to support either alongitudinal partition, as illustrated in Figure 3, or a transversepartition, as illustrated in Figure 4. When mounted as shown in Figure 3the clip not only supports the partition, but also locks together thetwo adjoining loor sections. The channels I3 formed in the iioor sillsmay advantageously be made somewhat wider than the diameter of the iioorperforations, so as to permit the anchorage feet I8 of the clip, whenlonger than the thickness of the floor board, to spring under the edgeof the perforation to provide more secure anchorage.

With reference to the details of the clip itself, it will be seen fromFigure 6 that this may be stamped from a rectangular blank of sheetmetal, practically without waste. All parts of the clip may be integral.The base portion l5 extends along the entire width of each ear I6 andprojectsr beyond the planes of the ears to the lines I9, from which thefeet i8 are bent downward. This design or construction provides a clipof a high degree of stability, strongly resisting any tend-v ency 'torock, tilt or turn in any direction. The ears i5 are turned upwardapproximately at right angles into two approximately parallel planes,whereas ne feet i8 are turned downward approximately at right anglesinto two approximately parallel planes, the latter planes being morewidely spaced and generally parallel to the planes of the ears i6. Thebase I5 acts as a stop to arrest the clip as it is being inserted in thefloor and hold it in true upright alinement, and it furthermore providesa seat for the partition Il, which is to be embraced by the ears I6.While, in a sense, the ear portions I6 may be regarded as cachcomprising a pair of ears united at their outer or free ends, theinvention in itsbroader aspect is not strictly limited to their beingthus united. In a broad sense, it is immaterial how many ears areemployed, so long as they are at least two in number and are adapted toembrace between them the partition which they are to support. On theother hand, a speciiic and preferred feature of the invention resides inthe continuity of the metal across the outer top of each ear, since thisconstruction establishes an inverted U-shaped brace or truss in a plane.at an angle to the plane of the base, and thus contributes to therigidity of the base member against bending, and at the same timestrengthens the engagement of the ears with the partition.

It will, of course, be understood that in manufacturing the clip, sheetmetal of proper strength and thickness should be selected, according tothe requirements of a particular use. Hardening or tempering to therequired degree of resilience may obviously be employed.

With reference to Figure l, it will be quite apparent that thepartitions extend longitudinally and transversely of the tray, andcompartments of variousI dimensions and proportions may be formed byproper selection and location of the various partition units. While Ihave illustrated the formation of the tray floor in sections or units,it is obvious that any other type of oor construction for such trays isequally adaptable to the use of the clip by arranging the anchorageperforations or recesses in lines of any desired directions with properspacing' of the perforations to receive two anchorage feet of the clipWherever it may be desired to mount it. Ordinarily, two or more clipsare employed for each partition, and these of course must be properlyalined with each other in order to receive the partition. The principleof having the anchorage feet of each clip widely spaced, and engaging intwo perforations instead of one, aiTords a very firm and positivealinement of the partition-embracing ears of successive clips in theSame line, and even makes perfectly feasible the use of a single clip onrelatively short lengths of partition without fear of the partitionbeing angularly displaced under any ordinary conditions of use.

I claim:

1. A partitioned display counter equipment comprising in combination aiioor member having a line of spaced recesses, and a partitionsupportingclip mounted thereon, said clip having a floor-engaging base portionwith a pair of partition-engaging earsy bent upward from said baseportion approximately at right angles thereto into approximatelyparallel relation to each other,

and a pair of resilient anchorage feet bent downthe other, and apartition-supporting and iioori section-locking clip mounted over thejunction of said floor members, said clip having a iioor-engaging baseportion with a pair of partition-engaging ears bent upward approximatelyat right angles from said base portion into approximately l l parallelrelation to each other, and a pair of resilient anchorage feet bentdownward approximately at right angles from said base portion butinclined toward each other and spaced apart a distance slightly lessthan the space between a l recess in one of said floor members and arecess in the adjacent floor member, to resiliently hold the adjacentfloor members together.

WILLIAM HUEGLIN, Ja.

